Bakun, Benguet

During the Spanish Period, Bakun was a rancheria of the Commandancia Politico-Militar de Amburayan. Ampusongan (currently a barangay of Bakun) was a rancheria of the Commandancia Politico Militar de Tiagan, Distrito de Benguet.^[6]

When the United States took control of the Philippines, the American Congress issued Act No. 48 in November 1900, placing Bakun under the province of Amburayan, and Ampusongan under the province of Benguet.^[7] On August 13, 1908, Benguet became a subprovince of the newly established Mountain Province with the enactment of Act No. 1876, and the municipal districts of Bakun and Ampusongan became part of the subprovince.^[8]

In 1917, the Bureau of Non-Christian Tribes recommended that the western border of the Mountain Province be pushed eastward, such that the entire subprovince of Amburayan and large slices of Lepanto and Benguet would be made part of Ilocos Sur and La Union. In early 1937, Ampusongan was merged with Bakun, the latter carrying the name of the township while the former became a barangay.^[6] The issuance of Republic Act No. 4695 in 1966 included Bakun as a regular municipality in the newly created province of Benguet.^[9]

The Municipality of Bakun is located at 16°47′33″N 120°39′41″E, at the northwestern tip of Benguet. It is bounded by Mankayan on the east, Buguias on the southeast, Kibungan on the south, Sugpon on the south-west, Alilem on the north-west, and Cervantes on the north.

According to the Philippine Statistics Authority, the municipality has a land area of 286.91 square kilometres (110.78 sq mi) ^[10] constituting 10.36% of the 2,769.08-square-kilometre- (1,069.15 sq mi) total area of Benguet.

Bakun is situated 78.55 kilometres (48.81 mi) from the provincial capital La Trinidad, and 334.33 kilometres (207.74 mi) from the country's capital city of Manila.

In the 2024 census, Bakun had a population of 15,399 people.^[19] The population density was 54 inhabitants per square kilometre (140/sq mi).

Poverty incidence of Bakun (%)

Source: Philippine Statistics Authority^{[20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28]}

Bakun's economy engages in agricultural crops such as cabbage, carrots, potatoes, and rice. Bakun is scaling up its production of high-grade Arabica coffee.^[29]

In the mining and energy sector, Bakun takes place on gold panning, mineral resource evaluations, and renewable energy installations.

Bakun is famous for its "Bakun Trio" mountains and multi-tiered waterfalls. The "Bakun Trio" mountains consist of Mt. Kabunian, Mt. Tenglawan, and Mt. Lobo. Meanwhile, the multi-tiered waterfalls of Bakun consist of Pattan, Mangta, and Tekip Falls.

The Bakun Schools District Office governs all educational institutions within the municipality. It oversees the management and operations of all private and public, from primary to secondary schools.^[31]